Big_Foot

Looks like a new "blogger" on BA has flown residence and did one post about it.
Let's see for how long Mr Lucky will be milking it.
BTW, he's 16 and "since a young age, he's been obsessed with all types of flying".

http://pointsfromthepacific.boardingarea.com/about/

bthotugigem05

I really enjoy Zac's blog (Ben's too, for the record), kid writes well beyond his years.

84fiero

I remember being that age and thinking 30 was fairly old and that I would be really mature when I turned 18!

I will say, I'm impressed that the kid says he saved up his own money for 2 years to be able to pay for the Residence ticket. It took Lucky a failed Kickstarter attempt before he eventually decided to pony up for it. Pretty good review, has a couple of 360 degree pics. Certainly possible to cover it in one post. I'm guessing Lucky will take maybe a dozen?

YoungSoloTraveler

Let's get real. A 16 year old "saving money" for a Residence ticket? Come on now. But his writing is way beyond his years and his photos are even better then lucky IMO. Good for the kid to have a hobby, but no doubt this is just some rich parents letting their kids enjoy their passion, nothing wrong with that.

At 16, my parents were lending me their 20 year old beater. Very Jealous.

gpeso8

I don't think it's that unrealistic. He didn't really get into how he received the money he was saving. I know a few guys who when they were 15-18 started businesses that would easily enable them to purchase a residence ticket. I know at least one who had a higher income than their parents by 16.

His writing and photos are much better than Lucky and the kid is a lot less annoying.

fartoomanyusers

just to correct this ... Zac actually got five posts out of his Residences trip !

which doesn't sound unreasonable to me ... but just to put Ben/Lucky's posts in context !!

http://pointsfromthepacific.boardingarea.com/category/etihad/page/2/

84fiero

Why not? My father started washing and detailing cars when he was 13 and had enough for a very nice used car by the time he was 16 with money to spare and a new car at 18. I worked (part time during school and full-time during summer break) starting at 14 and self-funded all of my private pilot course costs myself, getting my first license at 16 with leftover money towards a car and further flight training. Not all teens are out partying and wasting time.

Zac guy stated in a reply to one of his commenters that his parents didn't contribute anything. I don't know the kid so I can't vouch for him. But even if his savings had included some Christmas money and gifts from Grandma, it's still more impressive for a teenager to have that dedication...as compared to a self-sufficient 27-year-old with a long-running business, who first tried to beg for his readers to fund his dream trip. Then only later finally pried open his wallet once prices dropped a bit.

Astrophsx

Also, saving money could mean a lot of things at 16. Maybe for your birthday, Christmas, or other holidays you are given cash and you save that money. You do side work, which could be anything from a legit job (not sure the legal age to work there) or doing favors like booking award tickets for people.

At the end of the day... if he starts claiming that he is self-funded and writes all his flights are award flights with miles he's purchased, flying on premium long haul cash tickets, etc... then yeah... I think you'd have a right to question him.

Being in Australia and limited to 4 credit cards... that would tell me he's not flying on sign-up bonuses. I'm also guessing there MS opportunities are limited as well. I would assume that most of his travel is through award flights where he has purchased miles (something he stated in his CNN interview).

JetAway

I like his blog and I'm glad I found it. Very interesting and refreshing.

nlagalle

I've read some of his stories and I wouldn't say he writes beyond his years. The blogs are full of grammatical errors and show poor writing skills.

Astrophsx

After reading:
http://pointsfromthepacific.boarding...had-residence/

IMO I would say his writing style is on par with what one would expect from a 16 year old.

Beyond his years would imply that he knows how to inject some personality into his writing. Also, someone who has the ability to allow the reader to visualize the experience using words and is not fully reliant on posting a photo, writing one sentence, then posting another photo repeat. The trip report format has too much influence from OMMAT. I'm not sure why people are saying this is better than what Ben puts out beyond maybe the photos? Of course you are less annoying when your word count is that low.

The drive, motivation, and many other things are beyond what you'd expect in a 16 year old.

Reds2011

His writing is quite poor. About average for a 16 year old these days, but if it was a test, there would be a lot of red ink on the paper.

MSPeconomist

Don't kids save for college?

B747-437B

I remember reading somewhere that he dropped out of middle school to "travel full time", so I don't think college is in his plans.

gpeso8

Home schooling?